Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be spread throughout the world so that all may know Christ. Join us now for a portion of one of our services here at Kerwin Baptist Church, located in Kernersville, North Carolina. Took on Brother Richard Johnson and his ministry in downtown New York City on our missions program. He was here on a Wednesday evening.
So, many of you have so many ministries going on here on Wednesday nights might not have gotten to hear him. But when I was a kid, somehow my dad preached at a church downtown New York City, and the pastor there, Brother Johnny Morgan, that was an inner city ministry, a mission endeavor, and somehow I got a hold of these quarter books. when I was a kid. And I remember Few months, man, I was collecting quarters. My dad, obviously, being an evangelist, I was in a different church every week.
And so, man, I'm going up to strangers asking them for quarters and different things. I'm sure my dad lost revival meetings over it, but I filled up a bunch of these quarter books. And I'll never forget, we actually were preaching near there and drove into the city, and I had a stack of these quarter books and gave them to the pastor. I said, I have raised these, and basically it's $10 of quarters. Many of you have changed sitting around.
And so that church that I collected those quarters for is where Brother Johnson got saved. And he is pastoring not far from that church now. They have a church that was built in the 1800s, and many famous hymns were written and sung first at this church. And I thought, how good would it be that maybe you could get your kids involved in this and get these quarterbooks as a family? You say, you know what, man, we could probably get five books and get your kids involved because, really, if we send this to Africa, it might be a while, if ever, that you'd get to go visit it.
But this is in New York City. And eventually, you could take your kids and show them: hey, this is the ministry that we worked hard to raise some quarters for. And they're trying to renovate a prophets' chamber when they have people come through, missionaries and speakers and things in that downtown ministry, somewhere for them to stay. They don't have air conditioning, they got just a little parcel of land. You know how much stuff is in New York City.
But anyway, we want to help with this.
So I said, since I did it as a kid, we're going to introduce this to a new generation. Most of our kids have never seen quarter books. And so it's real hard. You take a quarter and you put it in the slot. That's all you got to do.
And if you get a hold of this, so next Sunday, we're going to have these available and we want to help raise money for this ministry in New York. I hope that you'll be part of it. Today we want to continue on our series on altars. And today we want to talk about the changing altar. The changing altar.
This is. The altar of Jacob. Jacob had a very complicated life. And for a few minutes this morning. Um I want you to listen with me.
Now, you can try to turn back and forth to some of these passages. Many of them obviously will be in the book of Genesis. But I want to give you a kind of a principle. of Jacob's life. And when Jacob finally built, His first altar.
I want you to understand the circumstances surrounding it.
Now there's three names that we always put together. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Now we just preached about the five altars of Abraham, and of course his last one with Isaac on the altar. But we always talk about Abraham, Isaac, And Jacob. But Jacob was the slowest one to catch on. to the enormity of the promise God had given. to this family.
Jacob wanted to be his own man. In reality, Jacob was rebellious. But God knows how to fix that.
Now, if you in your deepest heart are rebellious this morning. Towards God and his word. None of us would admit to it. But in your deepest heart, let me say this. God always gives space to repent.
And God would much rather you get your heart right. then him have to take over. But God can fix rebellion. one way or another.
Now, I want to illustrate the difference between Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob this morning. And let's pray, and we're going to jump right into it. Lord, I love you. I thank you for all that you've done. God, thank you for the Christ honoring music that we've heard this today and Lord, I pray you'd bless the preaching of your word.
This is the most. important part of worship. is your word. Lord, there is no worship without your word.
So, Lord, I pray that you would bless as we look. and glean and learn. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Number one, this morning I want you to see that God spoke to Abraham.
And he built an altar. I want to remind you of this passage on the screen for you. Genesis 12:7, and the Lord appeared unto Abraham. We talk that's how it always starts. God initiates.
And the Lord appeared unto Abraham and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land, and there Builded he An altar. Unto the Lord. God instigated the contact. God communicated with Abraham, and Abraham responded with an altar. An altar was the way that man communicated back to God.
Number two, God spake to Isaac. And he built An altar, Genesis 26. Look at verse 24 on the screens if you need it. And the Lord appeared unto him the same night and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father. Fear not.
For I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed, for my servant Abraham's sake. And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord. God initiated contact, God communicated. Isaac responded. He built an altar, which began a relationship.
It wasn't just one-sided, where God came, God spoke, God communicated. The altar was Isaac's way of communicating back to God. Number three, God spoke to Jacob and he built a pillar.
Now, God speaks to Abraham, he built an altar. God spoke to Isaac and he built an altar. But when God spoke to Jacob He built a pillar. I said, what do you mean?
Well, let's look at this, Genesis 28. Verses will be on the screen for you. Verse 10, and Jacob went out. From Beersheba and went towards Haran. And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven.
You've heard of Jacob's ladder. This is a dream that God initiated in Jacob's life. And in this dream, there was literally a ladder that went from earth. to heaven.
Now notice this. The top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. They were going up and down the ladder.
Now, I know what you're thinking. That's bad pizza. But this was initiated from God.
Now, if you have this dream, you did. You ate something wrong, okay? But this God gave to Jacob. God speaks differently in 2023. He's given us His word.
God doesn't have to speak to us through dreams. He's given us His word. God doesn't speak to us through prophets anymore. He's given us His word. Okay, want to make sure we all are on the same page about that.
So God gives this dream and This is an interesting dream. I want you to notice first in this dream God promised him provision.
Now, notice verse 13 of this passage. We just read, you know, 11 and 12. Listen, God promised, and behold, the Lord stood above it, this ladder. And said, I am the Lord God of Abraham. Thy father And the God of Isaac.
I just made up a character.
So God says I am your grandfather's God. I'm your father's God. The land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it. and to thy seed. He never said, I'm your God.
Now he wanted to be. God promised him provision. He said, The land you're on, I'm going to give it to you. Notice secondly, God promised him prosperity, verse 14. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, to the north, to the south.
And in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
So he promised him provision. I'm going to give you the land. He promised him prosperity. I'm going to bless your family. Notice thirdly, God promised him.
protection. Look at verse 15. And behold, I am with thee. and will keep thee. That means protect.
I will keep thee in all places. Whither thou goest. I don't know about you, Jacob was blessed to have that promise. Especially the life that Jacob lived. Everybody wanted to kill him.
Esau wanted to kill him. His father-in-law wanted to kill him. I'm sure one of his wives wanted to kill him. I'm sure the mailman wanted to kill him. Everybody wanted to kill Jacob.
Because he had manipulated and schemed and deceived everybody. I want you to notice in verse fifteen: God also. Promised. His presence. For I will not leave thee.
Everybody else had. Everybody had left Jacob and Jacob had left everybody. God says, I will not leave thee until I have done that. which I have spoken to thee of. God promised him provision, prosperity, protection, presence.
But when God initiated this communication with Jacob, Little did Jacob know God was initiating a plan to change Jacob. Jacob had always manipulated and schemed. Jacob had been self-absorbed. long enough So God comes to him in a dream. a ladder going from earth to heaven.
Angels coming down and going up upon this ladder, and God at the top of it. He says, I'm going to give you provision. I'm going to give you prosperity. I'm going to give you protection. I'm going to give you my presence.
And what does Jacob do? Abraham, when God came to him, he built an altar. Isaac, when God came to him, Isaac built an altar.
Now First time God comes to Jacob. Notice number one, I want you to see Jacob celebrated the place. Look at verse 16. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep and said, Surely The Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. And he was afraid and said, How dreadful is this place?
There is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. He celebrated the place. Notice secondly, Jacob constructed a pillar. Verse 18, and Jacob arose early in the morning and took the stone that he had put for his pillows and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on it. He was not an altar man.
He was a pillar man. Say, what in the world does that mean?
Well, when God came to Jacob, Jacob built an altar so he could communicate back to God. When God communicated with Isaac, Isaac built an altar so he could communicate back to God. An altar of sacrifice, an altar of surrender, an altar of submission. And you remember the other messages we have been preaching on this. But God shows up to talk to Jacob.
Jacob forms no altar to talk back to God. He just sets up a pillar. What is a pillar?
Well, Jacob did not respond like Abraham and Isaac did by building an altar. You see, an altar is a place of sacrifice, a place of submission, a place of relationship. A pillar was a memorial that marked a spot where something amazing had happened. Jacob was a pillar man, not an altar man. Jacob was quite impressed with the dream.
Jacob was impressed with the fact that I'm going to be prosperous. I'm going to get this land. I have God's protection. I'm always going to have God's presence. And instead of trying to communicate back to God out of humility and submission, He just puts this big marker to let everyone know.
what I'm going to be given. I want you to notice, thirdly, Jacob never changed. as a person. God shows up to Jacob, and Jacob never changed. God communicated with Jacob, but Jacob never communicate it back.
There was no contrition. There was no humility. There was no prayer. You don't find anywhere Jacob praying. There was no calling on the name of the Lord as there had been with Abraham and Isaac.
There was no sacrifice. There was no altar. There was no relationship. There was just a memorial so that everybody would see Jacob. Number four.
Jacob demanded conditions. for God to perform.
Now he goes further. Uh In response to this dream. Genesis 28, verse 20.
Now, look, you've got to read this. Don't lose me because I'm almost done. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, if God will be with me, And will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, so that I can come again to my father's house in peace. Then shall the Lord be my God. You see.
He was the God of Abraham. He was the God of Isaac, but he wasn't Jacob's God yet. Because Jacob said, if you do this for me, then I'll make you. Yeah. I put up a big pillar to let everybody know that I'm getting this land.
That I'm getting the provision, that I'm getting the prosperity, that I've got your presence, that you're going to give me protection. I'm putting up this marker. But I will tell you what: as long as you fulfill all that, as long as you do that for me, then I'll let you be my God. How selfish Yeah, can one man be Abraham and Isaac's response was worship. Jacob's response.
was filled with conditions. If you do this for me. In other words, God, if you prove yourself to me, then I will let you be my God.
Now, hold on, don't be too critical of Jacob, because we do the exact same thing. We set up our little are little pillars. Or we have the pillar of church membership. We have the pillar of going Forward at an invitation. We have the pillar of saying the right things.
We have the pillar of a token offering here and there. Just so that we can say we've done something, just so we can acknowledge that God knows me and that I know Him and that I'm a Christian. But we get mad when God's blessings don't show up like we think they should, and we get upset if God doesn't fix a problem like we think He should when we want Him to fix it. We have set up our pillars, but we have not erected any altars. Pillars are all about us.
Altars are all about him. Even though Jacob's heart was not right. God would bless him because he had promised it to His grandpa. God would bless him because he had promised it to his dad. But God had a plan.
for this rebel A plan that would bring him to his knees. A plan? That would leave him with a limp. the rest of his life. Jacob would experience 20 years of trials and problems.
Not hearing from God again. He would be cheated of time, he would be cheated of money, he would even be cheated in wives. He got to the point that he feared for his life. From his uncle Laban, and he feared for his own life because of his own brother Esau. God brings all these troubles to a climax.
And Esau is on Jacob's trail, and he's about to catch him. Years earlier, Jacob had cheated Esau out of a birthright. And Esau said then, I will wait until dad is dead. But when dad dies, I'm coming after you. And dad had died.
Jacob was afraid. He was more afraid than he had ever been. And the night before, Esau caught up with him. Jacob does something.
Now you listen. Jacob does something he had never done. Done. up until this point. He prayed.
Genesis chapter thirty two. We see number five, Jacob. crumbles. when he finally prays. Genesis 32, verse 9, the verses will be on the screen for you.
And Jacob said, O God of my Father. Abraham. God of my father Isaac. Your grandpa's god and Your dad's God. The Lord would send unto me, Return into thy country, thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee.
Listen to verse 10. I Ham. Not. Worth it. Of the least of all the mercies.
Jacob finally crumbles. when he prays. Jacob said, I'm not worthy of your mercy. I'm not worthy of your truth, notice, which thou hast showed unto thy servant. For with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now and become two bands.
Deliver. Me. I pray thee. From the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau. For I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother.
with the children. Thou hast said, I will surely do thee good and make thy seed as the sand of the sea. That night he pondered what the morning might bring. And he went to bed. He had finally called back to God.
And when he went to bed, little did he know. The Bible says a man came to him in the middle of the night. Many believe it was. Divine encounter from the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. I don't You know, I have my own opinions about this and all that.
And they began to wrestle. Jacob had wrestled his entire life. Jacob had cheated and schemed and manipulated. And as he wrestled with this Man from heaven. which we believe was probably Jesus Christ.
He would not let him go. And he became desperate and he said, I'm not going to let you go. Unless you bless me. Remember, everything Abraham had, he got from God. Everything Isaac had, he got from dad.
But everything Jacob had, he had gotten from manipulation and deception. But he didn't have one thing that grandpa had and that dad had had. Oh, he had things and he had possessions and he even had a birthright that he had cheated his brother of, and he had these wives that he had. Oh, he had all those things, but he did not have God's blessing. And you can have everything there is.
And young people, you look at her, you can have the person you thought you've always wanted, and you can have the things you thought you've always wanted, and you can do what you want to do. But you are going to have one thing that you'll never have. And that's God's blessing. And all those things that you get can't take the place. of God blessing you.
Jacob says God. I'm not going to let you go. Until you bless me. And God does bless Jacob. He touched the hollow of his thigh.
And the next day when Jacob met his brother Esau, The anger and bloodshed that he had feared didn't happen. Instead, God had worked on Esau. And Esau was overjoyed to see his brother. Jacob leads his brother and heads for the city of Shechem. And he stops outside of that city for the first time in his life.
Number six. And This is the last point. Jacob changes. when faith became personal. You're the god of my grandpa.
And you're the God of my debt. And they had your blessing. But you've not been my God. You have been this thing that I expected to do everything for me. You have been my grocery store.
You've been my teller at the bank. You've been my doctor of diseases. That's what God becomes to us if we're not careful. He says, but I want you to be my God. Amen.
In fact, Jacob changes so much that God changed his name. Yeah. He changed his name from Jacob. to Israel because now God was His God. And in chapter 33, verse 19, I want you to see us before we go.
Okay. And he, meaning Jacob, bought a parcel of land of a field. where he had spread his tent at the hand of the children of Amor. Shechem's father. For a hundred pieces of money.
And he erected there First time in his life. An altar. Oh, what he had been through in his life. What a mess he had made. You finally builds.
An altar. This pillar man. became an altar. Where his life had always been about him. Yeah.
Now had become. about him. No, look what he calls it. He built there an altar and called it. El Elohi Israel.
Now at first reading you might think But what he is saying here, he called the altar the god of El Elohim. El Elohi, the god of Israel. Thank you. You would say, well, he is saying here that God is the God of the mighty nation of Israel. But you'd be wrong.
There was no nation of Israel at this point in history. That's good for you to command. He was saying. This altar is dedicated to the God of me. Right.
The guy that used to be Jacob. That's now Israel. I'm putting up this altar because He was the God of grandpa and he was the god of dad. Yeah, I'm back. But he is now.
The god of me. I grew up listening to preaching every night of my life, lived in an Airstream travel trailer. You've heard the story.
So I went to college. I had been in hundreds, in literally thousands of churches. Met pastors, pastors' wives, pastors' kids.
Some wonderful, some absolute The greatest news that anyone can receive is the news of the free gift of salvation found in Jesus Christ. It is our desire for you to know him personally. Would you take a moment to hear this to-day? Every man is born with a sin nature. Romans 3:23 says, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
No matter how hard we try, We're not good enough to obtain God's glory. or to get to heaven. Because of that sin carries the penalty of death. Romans 6.23 says, For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life for the through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The wages of our sin, or the payment of our sin, only equals death and separation from God. But it's only through God's gift salvation through Jesus Christ that we can accept Him as our Savior. Jesus Christ paid for your sin debt. The Bible says in Romans 5:8, But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. All you have to do is receive Christ.
by faith as your Saviour. Romans 10.9 says That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Verse 13 continues, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. It's as simple as admitting that you're a sinner believing that Jesus is the only way. and calling upon his name.
Bible says whosoever that's anyone can call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. Have you accepted Christ as your personal Savior? There is no greater day than today to take care of this. Would you accept Christ as your Saviour? If you have any questions, please give us a call at 336-993-5192 or visit our website at Crowin Baptist Church.
Dot com. or visits that person at one of our three service times. We hope you have a great rest of your day. God bless you. Mm-hmm.
